March 2008

Industry Spotlight

267 INFUSIONS ACQUIRED BY THE FALIC GROUP267 Infusions was purchased by Florida-based The Falic Group and will operate in the future under the name Innovative Liquors. An international corporation with numerous luxury goods and spirit brand holdings, The Falic Group acquired 267 Infusions in a move to expand their growing spirits portfolio. Besides Innovative Liquors, The Falic Group has several other successful holdings, including flagship company Duty Free Americas, North America’s largest duty-free operator. Privately-held, The Falic Group posted sales upwards of $800 million in 2007 and employs more than 2500 persons worldwide.President Leon Falic is highly optimistic about the future of the company and its successful marketing of 267 Infusions and other upcoming brands. “The expertise of The Falic Group in the area of marketing luxury goods, and the large number of retail locations, will provide high-value consumers optimal access to 267 Infusions and other brands within the Innovative Liquors portfolio,” Falic says.

Dolph Parro New SR VP/Wine at Glazer’sIndustry veteran Dolph Parro has been named Sr. VP/Wine for the Dallas-based distributor, Glazer’s. Parro will be responsible for brand-building activities with Glazer’s vendors, and will work with each state’s sales and marketing team to drive execution of supplier and company objectives. Parro will work alongside James Gunter, Sr. VP/Fine Wines, as well as with Bill Cascio, VP/Winery Relations, in the development and implementation of Glazer’s Corporate Wine Strategy. Glazer’s, currently operating in 12 states, is one of the nation’s largest wholesale distributors of wine, spirits and malt-beverage products. The third-generation family business was founded in Dallas in 1933.

Andrew Pfeffer has been appointed Senior Vice President, Western Division, USA for Ice Cap Enterprises’s Siku Glacier Ice Vodka.Pfeffer brings to ICE 28 years of experience in the wine and spirits industry and a wealth of expertise and contacts at both the retail and distributor level. He will be overseeing all sales and distribution of spirits for ICE in the Western United States, with the initial focus on their flagship product, Siku Glacier Ice Vodka. Siku, meaning “ice” in Greenlandic, is the only spirit in the world in which pure Greenlandic ice, which is up to 60,000 years old, and ultra-premium grain alcohol are transformed directly into vodka at -25 Celsius, using a proprietary “ice-blending” process. Distribution is expected to reach 30 states by the end of 2008, with sales targets of 25,000 cases.

Osborne Group Purchases Pernod Ricard Brandy and Sherry BrandsOsborne has reached an agreement with Pernod Ricard España for the purchase of a significant part of their brandy and sherry portfolio. The agreement applies to 14 brands altogether, including Carlos I, Carlos III and Felipe II brandies and the sherry wines Fino La Ina and Oloroso Rio Viejo, among others. This sale to Osborne does not include the Domecq brand, which still belongs to Pernod Ricard, as it has since its acquisition of Allied Domecq in 2005.